The Senators goaltender instituted a new policy today of not speaking with his good friends in the media on game day as he prepares to start tonight against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Place.

Emery, making only his third start of the season, has
to win tonight if he is going to have any chance of wresting the No. 1 job from goalie
Martin Gerber, who has emerged as the club's clear-cut
top man in the net so far this season.

"I don't care what (Emery's) like to you guys (in the
media)," said coach John Paddock this morning at the Senators' game-day skate. "The
people he's responsible to are his teammates and the
organization. You have a certain standard you have to
live up to, but who says that has to be happy all the
time ... It's good to be surly."

The reality is Emery has to get his game back together
whether he's co-operative with the media or not. Yes,
he took the Senators to the Stanley Cup final last
season, and yes he is recoevering from a wrist injury that required off-season surgery, but if he can't live up to the standard being set by Gerber, he's not going to see much playing time.

Emery wasn't great in the club's 6-4 victory over the
Atlanta Thrashers last Thursday at Scotiabank Place, but Paddock noted that
was partially because the team collapsed around him. The Senators built a 5-6 lead before falling to sleep and requiring an empty-net goal to finally put the game away.

"He's just got to win just like we've done. That's the bottom line," said Paddock.